Orks
The Orknoids, also known as Orks or Greenskins, are a species of semi-sapient Xenos that have infested almost every corner of the galaxy. A violent warrior species that eclipses even humanity in numbers, the Orknoids are a collection of closely related breeds that are genetically compelled to seek out conflict. Were they a unified species the orks would undoubtedly sweep aside all others in the galaxy, but fortunately their innate contentiousness and low level of general intelligence has kept this race largely fractured for all the millions of years of its existence. An ancient menace that has plagued the stars since before humanity left Terra, Orks are a symbol of havoc and terror across the Milky Way and are an enemy of all other races. In the 41st Millennium the Green Menace is as belligerent as it has ever been, and the escalating conflicts of the galaxy only empower them further in their eternal thirst for battle. Orks in Sector Deus The Orks have long blighted Sector Deus in nearly all Subsectors. On the peripheries of the galaxy the Orks have many regions of unknown space in which to gather & fester, before surging forth to assail Imperial territory. In addition to a number of worlds that have held - or still hold - long-term Ork infestations, Sector Deus has also suffered from multiple Waaghs of varying severity over the millennia. The most recent was in 152.M41 when a Waaagh struck Subsector Meridian from the spin/trailward edge. While it was halted at Triot it destroyed the vital industrial world almost completely. The nearby Sector Paxia also suffered an attack by a large Waaagh in 345.M51 that inflicted severe damage to the world of Barivia & Battlefleet Paxia, and caused significant upheavel to the small Sector of only a few worlds. The Iron Monks and Ghosts of Retribution of Sector Deus assisted Barivia against this waaagh, the Astartes' involvement known as Operation Tidebreaker. Some of the known Ork infestations in and around Sector Deus are: *'Ord' - The centre of an Ork Empire on the coreward edge of Subsector Cryptus, ruled by the colossal Ork Warlord Sharku Ak-Molg who has entitled himself the Arch-Destructor of Ord. This Ork Empire periodically encompasses parts or all of the neighbouring Ork Worlds of Drohia and Remgar as well, but heavy infighting means they often change hands between various Ork Warbands. These three Ork worlds are in constant conflict with each other and within themselves (though Ord is the most internally stable), which fortunately diverts most of their attention away from the nearby human worlds. *'Pexar' - A major Ork stronghold in Subsector Aeternus, this world has long been dominated by orks of the Blood Axes Klan and hosts hundreds of millions or Orks. An isolated by massive Ork presence, Pexar's Orks are fighting with each other near-constantly for territory, loot, and fun. Meanwhile the Blood Axes here are known for their cunning and some also work as mercenaries for certain factions in the Sector. The Blood Axes' Warlord - the Kommando Fragmakka - is considered the most intelligent Ork in the Sector and has a loose understanding with the Inquisition that he will not be bombarded from orbit so long as his Orks mostly remain on Pexar. *'Aktis Nebula' - A large celestial region located spin/coreward of Sector Deus, approximately 250ly from the Sector border. Comparable to a large subsector in size, this Nebula has an extremely heavy Ork infestation of at least a dozen systems and multiple empires. Virtually unassailable by local Imperial forces, the Aktis Nebula is given a massive berth by intersector travellers. In the 340s.M41 the Farradian Chain - a cluster of seven worlds located coreward of the Aktis Nebula that had become infested with Orks - was cleased by a Black Templars Crusade under Marshal Katovar. *'Da Orkillian Edgepire' - An Ork empire of four systems located roughly ~100ly rimward & trailward of Sector Deus, nearing the Halo Zone. Ruled by a gargantuan Ork known as the 'Megaboss of Orkillia', this Empire is notorious for its Freebooter-esque raiding packs that prowl around the Halo Zone's borders. The most infamous is Kaptin Burk Brainsmasha, who commands a fast raiding force of several escorts from his own Battlekroozer. Meanwhile the Orkillian Empire's largest, slowest vessels stay within the empire itself and are thought to be at least Battlekroozer in size. *'Aragak'z Relm' - An ork world in Subsector Adamantis ruled by the Warlord Aragak. Its shipbuilding efforts are continually bombarded by Battlegroup Adamantis of the Imperial Navy. *'Daram' - This ork world in Subsector Ionium is currently at war with the Squat Norgyr League. *'Enimpot' - An desert Ork World in Subsector Dominus. Little is known about this infestation. Meanwhile there are also a number of worlds within Sector Deus which are not ruled by Orks but must contend with Ork infestations: *'Triot' - Located in Subsector Meridian and reclaimed from ork rule in 363.M41, Triot's infestation was purged with an extreme prejudice and is now in a Pre-Ork stage. Warlord Brok Racksmasha - once Triot's greatest Ork - was spirited away to Tartarus by parties unknown before he could be destroyed. *'Varda' - A jungle world in Subsector Cryptus that was reclaimed from Orks in 317.M41 by the Ghosts of Retribution. The Ork presence here has been whittled down to Pre-Ork, occasionally advancing to Feral before being crushed once more. *'Sondark' - An independant human system in Subsector Cryptus that is engaged in constant conflict with Orks from the nearby worlds of Drohia, Remgar, and Ord. Biology The Orknnoids' robust & effective biology has ensured their prominence for millions of years. With a growth pattern more akin to fungus than animals, a rapid reproduction process, and an incredibly tough physiology, orks are a genetically potent warrior race. The Orknoids are also incredibly omnivorous, and can sustain themselves on virtually any biological matter. In their savagery they also have no qualms with eating other sapients, alive or not. 'Orks' While there are several breeds of Orknoid, the most significant is the Ork. A bipedal humanoid with a hulking, hunched gorilla-like physique, the average mature ork is a little shorter (when in their naturally hunched stance) and a little heavier than a typical adult human. Their thick skin is a distinctive green colour and their head is large & blocky, with a highly prominent jaw and mouth filled with tusk-shaped teeth that grow & replace themselves constantly. They are covered in thick slab-like muscles that afford them significant explosive strength at the cost of dexterity, and a typical basic mature Ork rivals a highly-trained man in lifting strength while also being able to strike with an explosive speed that is only matched by experienced human melee combatants. More remarkable is their incredible toughness. The Orks' extremely simple & ubiquitous vital organs give them a tremendous resilience compared to a normal human. Only serious centre mass or head damage will kill an ork for good, and only destroying the brain will put one down immediately. As a result of their plant-like structure Ork tissue is highly adaptive and malleable, and Orks that have lost limbs can quite literally stitch them back on and heal with very little difficulty. Similarly organ transplants and repairs and equally reliable, so an Ork thought-killed could be back in action just days later. While they are ferociously dangerous & enthusiastic foes in close combat, Orks are fortunately renowned for their terrible marksmanship. They rely heavily on weight of fire in order to hit anything, and therefore most ork weapons either have a high rate of fire or a large area of effect. Another phenomenon of the Orks is that individuals that triumph and earn the renown of their fellows grow larger in proportion to their success. Orks that command the respect of a few dozen can grow to the height and bulk of a Space Marine or larger, and are known as Nobs (an orknoid contraction of Noble). Nobs that continue to triumph grow even larger, stronger, and tougher, and an Ork that commands hundreds of Orks or more is known as a Warboss. These Warbosses can continue growing as they win victories and accrue larger and larger armies, becoming Warlords, and the most feared Warlords in the galaxy command hordes of millions of Orks under hundreds of Warbosses and are themselves colossal green beasts of tremendous statuure and strength that can be the size of a tank. Over the millennia a precious few Warlords have united large portions of the Orknoid galaxy under their banner and they were said to rival small titans in size. The Orks have several subgroups that are dedicated to specialities beyond combat, known as Oddboyz. Mekboyz are imbued with genetic knowledge of engineering, Painboyz of medicine. Runtherds are overseers of Gretchin and Snotling slaves, and Weirdboyz are imbued with psychic powers fed by the Waagh Field (see below). These specialists can also grow in size with renown themselves, and even become Warbosses. For example a Mekboy that has risen to Nob-status is a 'Big Mek', while one that has risen to Warboss status is a 'Mek-Boss'. An experienced Painboy may become a Painboss, and those few Weirdboyz that survive long enough to unlock their full powers are known as 'Warpheads'. 'Other Orknoids' The diminutive Gretchin (also known as Grots) are small sapient greenskinned humanoids that at maturity are roughly the size of a young adolescent human, and they have a narrower and more rodent-like head than Orks along with a scrawny frame. Weak and much easier to kill than mainline Orks, Gretchin are a servant caste in Orknoid society. Immensely numerous, Gretchin are used as underlings, errand boys, servants, and - in battle - machine operators by Orks. Despite their weakness they are notoriously vicious and have been known to sneak around to cut throats in the night, and their superior eyesight makes them better shots than mainline Orks. Due to their small size and better dexterity they are often used as technicians by Mekboyz, who will have their gretchin swarm around vehicles to keep them running. Even smaller than Gretchin are the Snotlings. These tiny green beasts are barely a few feet tall and appropriately meek and frail, and are used as slaves in orknoid society. Snotlings are used for hard labour - such as cultivating ork spores - and in battle they can be used as suicide bombers & ammunition in the deranged creations of Mekboyz. The other members of the Greenskin race are of bestial intelligence. The hugely common Squig - a small, round creature with a big mouth of teeth - grow into near-infinite varieties that each meet a particular need of the Orks they grow around. Food squigs, attack squigs, lantern squigs, even hair squigs used as wigs, can all be found in an ork society and they are a vital resource of any ork civilisation (if such a thing can be so called). At the other end of the scale is the Squiggoth that only grows among Orks with the knowledge to develop them. These massive quadrupedal beasts are carnosaur-esque monsters with large tusks, and can vary from the size of a battle tank to the size of a small titan - depending on the skills of the grower. Often fitted with armoured howdahs (troop carriers on their backs), Squiggoths are dangerous and incredibly resilient beasts. 'Orknoid Life Cycle' The Orks' endurance as a species is in a large part down to their method of reproduction. Orknoids are a genderless race with growth patterns and tissue reminiscent of common fungus. Orknoids release spores periodically throughout their life and a large burst of spores when killed. These spores can settle and take root in almost any soft environment with at least basic nutrients where it will grow like a fungus beneath the dirt until mature. The type of orknoid that spawns depends heavily on the state of the local infestation. The majority of spores result in the ubiquitous Squigs or in simple inert edible fungi, but in a young sparse infestation the remainder will only produce Snotlings. These Snotlings will farm squigs and spores and create the startings of an ork society, and these tended spores will start producing Gretchin that can begin to build actual structures and more complex constructions. Once more ideal conditions have been created for the spores they start producing fully fledged Orks, and violence is bound to follow. Thus Ork infestations are difficult to fully eradicate and only fire or specially developed poisons can kill spores. Thus it is standard Imperial practice to burn the bodies of orknoids after battle to destroy their spores. Despite these measures, Ork Infestations can ednure for centuries after an ork invasion has been defeated, though so long as the infestation is managed dilligently they rarely ascend beyond the Gretchin stage. Still, Ork Infestations at any level are a serious security risk and this means the Imperium - and all sapients with the means - do all they can to stop Orks reaching their planet in the first place. Society Orknoids are savagely tribalistic and regularly beaten into obedience by their immediate superiors. They stick within their own mobs and even in 'peace' time they will frequently brawl with each other and hunt things to sate their lust for violence. The social structure is basic with Snotlings below Gretchin, Gretchin below Ork Boys, Ork Boys below Ork Nobs, and Ork Nobs below a Warboss (who in turn may join other Warbosses in subservience to a mighty Warlord). Oddboyz stand apart from this heirarchy, though tend to work for Warbosses in exchange for teef and opportunities to use their skills.. 'The Waaagh' When enough Orks band together they will inevitably rile up and thirst for warfare, and through internal conflict a Warboss is sure to rise to the top of the horde and give them purpose through his command. Most often these new Warbosses will lead their horde in a great offensive campaign called a 'Waaagh'. These Waaaghs quickly gain momentum as more Orks flock to its crusading banner on the promise of the battle they crave, and they can sweep entire planets aside in a Green tide. Fortunately Waaaghs can lose momentum just as fast, for if the Waaagh is stymied or the overall Warboss is killed the Orks can quickly fall to infighting. 'Economy' Orks exchange goods and services with each other, such as guns and cybernetics work, and have a genetic underclass of Gretchin, Snotlings, and captured slaves to do their labouring and serve as entertainment. Transactions between Orks use the currency of Ork teeth, known as 'Teef'. As every Ork constantly grows and sheds teeth this gives them a steady income, and also means that beating up other orks is a viable - albeit risky - way to make money. The size of the teef also affects their value, and they eventually rot away preventing inflation. Orks enjoy spending their teef on shiny weapons, gambling games, and food, and bigger orks grow bigger & more teef giving them bigger incomes. The largest Warbosses are therefore highly rich, and can buy the best flashy bitz from Mekboys. 'Religion' The Orknoids have two deities, Gork & Mork, who appear in iconography to be giant Orks. Orks do not have churches or organised religion but they tend to praise Gork & Mork and cover their vehicles & buildings in their symbols. What exactly Gork & Mork represent - and whether they exist or not - is a matter of debate within the Imperium. 'The Waaagh Field' The most unusual Orknoid phenomenon is the Waaagh Field. This is an extremely low level psychic field emitted by all Orks and when amassed can have real tangible effects on the materium. Orks do not seem consciously aware of this ability and so do not use any active psychic powers (with the exception of Weirdboyz - who are themselves further empowered by the scale of the Waaagh Field around them). Instead this field seems to warp reality in subtle, unconscious ways that help the Orks. For example Orks believe that painting a vehicle red makes it go faster, thus if enough Orks marshal together their red vehicles do indeed perform better. Other such effects include stronger morale & fervour, and the reliable operation of their ramshackle technology which under standard mechanical realities should be hideously unreliable at best. Waaagh Fields also instinctively attract Orks, fuelling the Waaagh further. The largest Waaaghs can attract Orks from entire star systems away as the Orks eagerly pursue battle. The field also enhances & unlocks more of the genetic knowledge locked within the Oddboyz, allowing the Mekboyz to construct larger and more dangerous machines as the Waaagh grows in size. 'Klanz' While each Ork band or tribe is a loose affiliation that can change & reform as new Warbosses come and go, an Ork's Klan is a deep cultural (and possible genetic) affiliation that defines major parts of their character. A given Ork band usually contains Orks from many different Klans, each one bringing their strengths to the band's war machine. While an Ork's Klan affiliation tends to endure through its entire life, they are still more obedient to their transient Warbosses (mostly through fear of beatings) and so Orks of the same Klan often end up fighting each other when Ork bands go to war with each other. While there are many Klanz, only six have been observed across the whole galaxy: *'Goffs' - Favouring the colour black, the Goffs are the biggest and meanest Klan who prefer melee combat greatly. They are aggressive & brutish even my Ork standards. *'Bad Moonz' - Rich due to their genetically swift teef growth, Bad Moonz tend to sport custom weapons and armour of impressive potency. They are fiercely protective & defensive towards other Orks who ever seek to take their teef and gadgets. *'Deathskullz '- Famously kleptomaniacal, the Deathskullz are scavengers & looters who compulsively salvage everything they can whether it is useful or simply shiny. They are notablu superstitious and have an affinity for utilising their salvaged scrap, resulting in many Mekboyz. *'Evil Sunz' - Gearheads with a love of all that moves. Evil Sunz love to crew vehicles from buggies to aircraft and have a thrillseeking nature and near-suicidal attitude towards speed. Evil Sunz often form Kults of Speed. *'Snakebites' - Traditionalist Orks who dislike more advanced technology. These Orks tend to be superior hunters & beast handlers, and some are excellent Kommandos. They favour warpaint and riding large boars & squiggoths, and may remain as Feral Orks permanently - producing no Mekboyz. *'Blood Axes' - The most intelligent & cunning Klan, Blood Axes employ camouflage and battle plans and have even been known to negotiate & parlay, or even serve as mercenaries. Considered untrustworthy and 'un-orky' by the other Klanz for their practices, the Blood Axes produce many Kommandos and the most intelligent Warbosses. 'Other Groups' There are many broad subsets of Orks who conduct warfare in distinctive ways. Whether an Ork enters any of these groups can depend highly on their Klan, but may be influenced by other factors including their band's favouritism, their maturity, or the enemy they are fighting. Speed Freeks are members of Kults of Speed, entirely mechanised Ork groups that love nothing more than going fast. They are the Orks' most dangerous and best drivers & pilots.' ' Kommandos 'are the sneakiest Orks, specialising in infiltration and outflanking as well as ambush & assassination tactics. Perhaps the most dangerous Orks of all, Kommandos are incredibly stealthy despite their size & strength. Kommado Warbosses are well known to be the most intelligent Orks around (with the exception of certain Oddboyz). '''Stormboyz '''are usually young Orks with a lust for adrenaline, who rebel from the typical anarchic Ork Kultur by forming organised & disciplined units. Stormboyz adopt formal militaristic behavious like parade drills, ranks, and peaked caps, but in battle they use volatile rokkit packs to soar over the battlefield as highly mobile infantry. ' Cyborks are orks who - through injury or choice - have been augmented with a large amount of cybernetics. Typically the prized retinues of Mekboyz, Cyborks are resilient beyond even orknoid standards and equipped with powerful mechanical weapons. Technology Ork intelligence is limited at best, with the typical ork boy easily outwitted by even a common hive dwelling human labourer. Despite this they have an innate affinity for weapons, and primitive Ork infestations with no access to any technology - known as Feral Orks - are still able to construct weapons like spears, bows, and war wagons on pure instinct. When an ork infestation progresses to the point where it produces Oddboyz, the Mekboyz greatly advance the level of technology. With the reality bending powers of the Waaagh Field helping their machines work, Mekboyz and their genetic knowledge are capable of constructing firearms, armour, tanks, aircraft, rockets, and even force fields and starships. While they work - which is itself miraculous - these things are still mostly of ramshackle scrap construction and can be prone to failing catastrophically when strained - or conversely can be incredibly resilient thanks to enormously overconstructed frames & armour. Orks are also famous for their love of 'looting'. Stealing, scrapping, retrofitting, and reverse engineering the technology of other races is one of the greatest talents of the Orknoid race, and they are capable of looting almost anything. Human weapons and tanks are simple targets for looting and operate under basic mechanical principles, but the Orks have been observed looting technology that should be far beyond their understanding - such as that of the Eldar, and an Ork-looted Eldar grav-tank is a distubing sight. If an Ork infestation consists of fully-formed orks left behind by a rampaging Waaagh, they tend to retain most of the technology they arrived with. However when an Orknoid infestation builds up purely from spores the tech levels correlate strongly with numbers, and progress as follows: 'Pre-Ork' When an infestation (from spores only) is no more than Snotlings and Gretchin it has no technology to speak of beyond basic farming tools and pimitive weapons like knives & clubs. Most planets with a legacy infestation do their best to keep it at this effectively harmless level. Still, a Gretchin mob can be lethal to unprepared civilians - especially on worlds of primitive technology - and often holed up in caves and deep in the forests where they become sources of fear or remain unknown at all. 'Feral' An infestation where full orks are being produced but they have no access to modern tech (either from pre-existing orks or scavenged/stolen from their surroundings). Without Mekboyz the Orks are only capable of making crude feudal-tier weapons such as axes and spears, and heavily use beasts of battle like boars or even Squiggoths if they can. While they are lethal to unarmed civilians and primitive humans, Feral Orks are little trouble for a modern military force but care must be taken to ensure they are completely eradicated and do not loot any modern tech. 'Basic' The archetypal non-Waaagh development level, usually found in disparate Orknoid bands that number no more than a few thousand full Orks. The emergence of Mekboyz sees the construction of firearms and combustion engines become possible, along with other basic modern weappons such as explosives & flamethrowers, and melee weappons formed of more potent materials (or made more potent by the empowered Waaagh Field). Light vehicles such as warbuggies are a common sight, and the higher ranking Orks may boast more complex weapons. Harder to manage, Orks at this stage function like lethal insurgents & raiders though they can be crushed if properly confronted by a sizeable military force. 'Advanced' It is usually at this stage that a Waagh begins to form as Orks eclipse hundreds of thousands or millions in number (most Freebooterz also occupy this level). More and better Mekboyz can start construction heavy vehicles in large numbers, including battlewagons and aircraft, and superheavy vehicles in smaller numbers such as Stompas and Gargants. More miraculous Ork devices such as 'tellyportas' and force fields also emerge, and the Orks develipe the capability to travel into low orbit. The construction of escort-grade vessels is possible but lengthy, while capital ship grade construction may be singular decades-long projects. Extremely dangerous, Advanced infestations must be destroyed as quickly as possible before more Orks rally to its banner. 'End Stage' An awful yet incredible sight to behold, this is an Ork infestation that numbers several million or more and is usually on the very cusp or in the midst of true Waaagh. With industry at full scale including massive Ork factories and fortresses, this level of infestation churns out huge numbers of firearms & explosives of all kinds, plasma-based weapons, and legions of heavy vehicles like battlewagons forming great armoured divisions. The largest weapons like Gargants and Mega-Gargants may be seen in whole squadrons, depending on the size of the infestation, and whole fleets of vessels may be under construction or already built up to and including battlekroozer/battleship scale. This tech-level is also found on worlds that have been completely dominated by Orks for many years, in which case it will also feature enormous Ork cities, fortresses, mines, and other massive infrastructure including even orbital docks and weapons. End Stage Orks can sweep aside entire planets in Waaagh, and gather Orks from entire systems away as they rampage through. The largest Waaaghs can number in the billions and have burned entire Sectors in their fury, and End Stage Waaaghs are serious threats for any Imperial World - especially smaller & less populous ones. Fleet Orks traverse the void in stubby, ramshackle vessels loaded with heavy directional armour and bristling with inefficient but lethal cannons. Ranging in size from escorts to colossal battleships, these vessels also tend to be poor at manouevring though have good speed, and are filled with greenskins making them extremely dangerous in boarding actions in either direction (Imperial Navy doctrine practically forbids boarding an Ork vessel in combat due to both the futility of such an action and the chance of spore contamination). Short and fat and often fronted with a colossal face of Mork/Gork, these are clumsy but dangerous ships. Fortunately they are unreliable and can fail catastrophically after sustaining critical damage. The Orknoid obsession with looting extends to voidships as well, and looted starships loaded with extra slabs of bolted-on armour and fitted with oversized orknoid guns are a common sight amongst Ork fleets. This goes beyond enemy starships too. A favourite shipbuilding method of orks is to take an asteroid of suitable size and strap on weapons and engines, producing a crude starship known as a 'Rok'. These utterly ramshackle Roks are crude and almost impossible to manoeuvre, but they are cheap, resilient and can house thousands of orks. An ork planetstrike typically involves the controlled crashing of a number of Roks. Taking this yet a step further, Orks have even been known to loot entire Space Hulks. After invading, clearing, and dominating these enormous vessels the Orks strap on their own guns and engines and use the Space Hulk as a gargantuan base. An Ork Space Hulks is often the centerpiece of a Waaagh and is incredibly hard to stop. Warp travel is generally only found in Orks that have stolen & retrofitted it from someone else. This fortunately ensures that isolated Ork systems are incapable of spreading - at least until their warp-incapable ships capture a foolish exploring vessel or warp-capable Orks pay them a visit. 'Freebooterz' There are some Ork bands that live entirely nomadic lives aboard starships, plundering & raiding at will and living the live of voidborn pirates to amuse themselves. These Ork Freebooterz can be extremely dangerous, ravaging both shipping & planets in search of loot, slaves, and violence. However as typically well-travelled & knowledgable (by Ork standards), Freebooter Kaptinz also tend to be more intellectual & reasonable (again, by Ork standards) than typical Warbosses. Thus Freebooterz often conduct mercenary work for various factions including independant humans and other Orks, bargaining their services for better loot & gains for themselves. Freebooter tech-level is typically Advanced thanks to their diverse plundering grounds and large Mekboy complements to keep their ships running, though they usually lack the larger ground vehicles such as Stompas & Gargants as there is only room to construct them on the largest of Ork ships. A Freebooter fleet size can also vary dramatically from a single escort to an entire armada of Kroozers & Battlekroozerz, and the largest fleets could even trigger a Freebooter Waaagh should they create enough havoc. Category:Xenos